Arbuckle
RE "The point of my post is, am I the only one here who thinks hard drive systems have serious drawbacks that should prohibit an educated buyer not to jump in yet??"
One aspect of the truly intelligent or well educated is to consider alternatives in life. For me to discount or dismiss another plan or concept that is apparently alien to my own, which may yeild as good if not better results, is sheer ignorance.... and I've been quite ignorant in my life now and then, trust me on that one. I called it "being conservative" back then.... it seemed to help.
Often my plans for a system improvement just don't go according to plan. The end product is usually as good if not better than the predetermined one... so far.
Obviously here, given the entry fee to Esoteric players, and their upscale counterparts, cost isnt really the prime consideration is it?
I don't think it is really.
RE Benchmark
I mentioned that DAC purely as a thoughtful USB option. There are numerous others so I also added the Apogee whose price point and build is commensurate with the Bench unit. The list grows readily... and routinely. Both serve as examples only to prove out one entrance fee ideal.
One has to admit at least this notion... CD players are all constantly on the move to more analog like - natural sound. CDPs however have built in constraints. The very nature of their designs possess built in obsolescence. Many are as well proprietary in their repairs or maintenance, and thus are expensive to keep running. However, if one can afford a Rolls, these last points are immaterial to them I should think. If ya can afford a $500K car... $2500 for scheduled visit to the dealership won't be a bother at all.
On the other side of the coin, computers, servers, software, and so forth are near plug and play these days but in the event of a failure have an abundant set of local and very affordable resources to remedy such occasions
. And local is always better!
Analog playback itself, unless done pretty well via system matching and so forth may not equal digital quality playback as it stands today. Analog has simply run it's course and provides merely variations on an older theme. I wont discount it as outdated or worthless, not at all, merely its fast losing its hold as the pinnacle of audio reproduction.
Were I able to employ vinyl here I likely would... and I'd keep it around too... though that wouldn't prevent me from entering another realm of audio recreation.
I know what might, however... My Contempt prior to investigation, or perhaps, my unwillingness to change, and quite possibly my pride
or my own fears. All of these principles will perpetuate my own imprisonment to the old, rather than the new.
The keys to lock or unlock those doors are in my possession though.
If I had just laid out a ton for a CD player I might well be quite dissmissive of some alternative path to musical enjoyment, and might also need to support that ideal, by some rationalization or justification of my present path to make my previous judgement valid... and save some face in the meanwhile.
In the light of the overwhelming positive experiences being posted here and elsewhere online, for someone to not entertain the idea that another way can yield likewise results is pure folly. it's akin to the idea set that wires/cabling don't make a difference! Ever think of that? Or that power conditioners are a waste of money? Isolation is pure snake oil?
I held onto all the aforementioned ideas for some time, and its price was costly in both time, and money.
There are numerous paths to audio bliss... solid state, hollow state... flea powered amps... all separtes
integrated units
LCD
Plasma
projectors
. analog... digital... and now there is server oriented pure digital domain.
You are in a superior position just now, IMO. AS you can take your time entering & investigating this new lesser expensive, and non time sensitive aspect... and personally, I know of a few major makers of digital converters which have some remarkable devices due to be released in the near future at attractive price points which will further escalate the current level of performance in the DAC end of things. I'm certainly looking forward to these releases myself though the knowledge of them did not prevent me from opting for the DAC I own now. Nor does it make me want to sell my CD player egven though the reproduction level equals and surpasses it in a few ways.
At some point
regardless the concept or fashion we choose to undertake a systems construct, we have to take the plunge somewhere
sometime
with some thing. The only wrong of it at all is to NOT involve ourselves. That is the only true loss we might endure
for in that state we gain no experience, or knowledge, and we will perpetually remain locked in our own little world. This too, has been one of my own flaws, for I do not usually embrace different very well. Stay the course
keep to what is proven, or that which I think to be the best
and wait
and wait
and wait.
Gee whiz
it took me a few years to consent to the idea not all CD players sounded the same! Or that more money needed to be spent to gain greater results!
The analog products of just one decade ago have now been made far superior by many accounts. Amplifier technology improves if by no other means than the sum of the parts being used within it. Arguably even cable are improving.
Should I now await for still greater accomplishments to arrive before I make a choice?
Why? For at that moment
still more advances are yet to come
so lets wait some more
and so on. Waiting is not a good idea in the end. IMO
Looking back now at my own experiences, I sure wish I had been more open to other ideas, sooner. It would have saved me much time, money, and frustration.
But the steadfast reasoning that this is too costly an event is ludicrous. The learning curve can be daunting, and initially there is an expense of time, but the rewards thereafter are great indeed.
